6000th Mercedes-Benz Intouro delivered.

Stuttgart/Mannheim: 25 October 2013

On 25 October 2013 Willms Reinhold Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH took delivery of three Intouro country buses at the Mannheim Bus & Coach plant. Those three buses include the vehicle with chassis number 6000. Ralph Willms, Managing Director of Willms Reinhold Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH, accepted the symbolic key for this special vehicle from Rüdiger Kappel of the Mercedes-Benz Bus & Coach Unit.

An economic workhorse for demanding taskmasters (and their accountants).

The Intouro high floor country bus was specifically designed for country, school and works bus routes and has only been manufactured to this specification since 2007. 6000 units delivered in only six years of production bear witness to the popularity of this economical country bus. And it is precisely in this price-sensitive market segment which calls for an extremely keen price-performance ratio, the ability to carry large numbers of passengers and continuous availability that the Intouro is acknowledged to be a reliable workhorse. This is thanks, in the first instance, to durable components from the Mercedes modular assembly system, robust engineering and a package of standard equipment totally aligned to cross-country usage.

Excellent qualities for school service work

The fact that the Intouro is equally well-suited for school service work is something that Willms Reinhold Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH was well aware of; and the company has equipped its vehicles accordingly. With 51 passenger seats, an area for storing prams and buggies opposite door 2 and grab rails throughout, the three Intouros are optimally equipped for the demands of regular service. The fully upholstered Inter Star Eco (ISE) seat copes easily with the requirements of seating in such types of operation. It has corner grab handles on the aisle seats, 2-point seat belts and vertical grab rails, as well as backrests fully upholstered in hard-wearing needle felt. Passenger information at the front, rear and on the sides is presented using clearly visible LED technology.

The 12.14 m long vehicle is driven by the Mercedes-Benz OM 457 hLA six-cylinder, inline horizontal engine. The powerful turbo-diesel engine has an output of 220 kW (299 PS) as standard. The BlueTec® diesel technology-powered engine complies with the EU EEV Exhaust Directive, without a diesel particulate filter. Gear-changing is by way of the ZF EcoLife 6-speed automatic transmission system .

The Intouro success story

The Mercedes-Benz Intouro replaced the successful Mercedes-Benz Conecto Ü country bus variant, which had been built since 1998 for the Turkish and Eastern European markets, at the beginning of 2007. The Intouro is manufactured at the ultra-modern Hoşdere plant, near Istanbul, by Daimler's Turkish subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Türk A.S. As a pure high floor vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz Intouro draws directly on the proven Mercedes-Benz country bus modular assembly system. With a view to providing rapid and lasting payback, the Intouro combines an economical purchase price and running costs to give an excellent price-performance ratio. Daimler Buses used the flexibility of its international production network to meet the changing demands from a price-sensitive segment.

Its rugged engineering and a standard specification that was, first and foremost, aligned to cross-country usage quickly resonated with the Western European market - and this is why, after just six years of production, the 6000th Intouro has been delivered to a customer.

About Willms Reinhold Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH

The bus company was founded in 1947 in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid. Under contract from the Rhein-Sieg-Verkehrsgesellschaft traffic administration organisation, Willms Reinhold Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH operates public local transport routes in, amongst others, the Rhein-Sieg district and, under contract from the Wupper-Sieg traffic administration organisation, in the Leverkusen district. It is also responsible for running the exempted school routes in the Neunkirchen-Seelscheid and Much districts, which is where the new Intouros will primarily be deployed. With more than 50 trained members of staff and a fleet of some 30 vehicles, predominantly Mercedes-Benz, the company transports on average 14,000 passengers per day safely to their destinations.